• Exploring Erosion student handout
• Soil of various sizes, shapes, and colors and types such as sand, silt, and/or clay
• Spray bottle (optional)
• Water
• 2 clear cups or measuring cups
• Gardening tool such as a spade or other tool for gathering soil
• Trays (aluminum or lined cardboard box)
• Access to Internet (optional)
• Pen and paper

Soil is a living and life-sustaining natural resource that promotes plant growth, provides a habitat for living things, and stores water. It is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gasses, liquids, and organisms that work together to support life. This mixture results in a multitude of colors, giving bricks, pottery, and artwork a blend of different pigments.

The process of weathering is the transformation of rock into soil through physical, chemical, or biological processes. Erosion is the next step in the process where soil is displaced to another location through movement caused by water, wind, and/or ice. Some of the greatest natural wonders of the United States—including the Grand Canyon, Natural Bridges National Monument, and Devils Tower National Monument—were carved and transformed in part by erosion and deposition of soil over time.